If you are looking for something more than your stereotypical tattoo parlor and you want a piece that is unique, eye catching and clean, then this is the place. The location is charming and comfortable; great music playing and chill atmosphere. Kevin is professional and friendly but beyond that it is easy to tell that he puts his soul into his work. My tattoo healed quickly and looks perfect! The colors are fantastic; every day I am just thrilled to see it there on my arm! I have many other nicely done tattoos, but this one is just amazingly different. Thanks again to Kevin for a great experience and for this lovely piece of art that I get to keep with me every day. Read Less

A very nice tattoo shop located in a historic house in Archdale. Kevin the owner and tattooer is superb in creating custome tattoos for each client. the shop is appointment only so make sure you call ahead to set one up. Read Less

Definitely added to one of the worst tattoo experiences I've had. The artist was constantly playing on his phone which made the appointment a lot longer than necessary, to make it worse, he was wearing the gloves he was tattooing me with while on his phone. If he did this with other clients, he could make his phone a biohazard. Really unclean & unsafe. My tattoo lost ink from a razor burn he gave me & he responded the first time I emailed him, but then cancelled the appointment & moved it to a day that wouldn't work for me. No response after. I've emailed him a couple more times, no response. I'll be going to another artist to fix his mistake, so I figured it was okay to let everyone else know to avoid this place. There's a lot more clean & friendly artists out there who will take your work seriously. Read Less

I had a great experience at Art Alive Tattoo. Kevin Ray was my artist and he was so friendly and professional in both our interaction prior to the appointment and the appointment itself. He worked me into his weekend schedule quickly. I loved that I was able to watch his process from start to finish: after letting him know my ideas he drew the tattoo up quickly right in front of me, chose the colors, and completed a beautiful tattoo for me in a very reasonable amount of time. I've had smaller tattoos that took longer than this! Impressive. The shop itself is comfortable and homey. Well worth the drive from Raleigh and I would definitely return! Read Less

Excellent tattoo experience. Kelly did two tattoos for me today and they are awesome. She does some amazing color work, and is extremely talented and professional. The shop itself is a fantastic atmosphere, only open by appointment so no hustle and bustle or loud distractions. Kelly was a quiet and focused worker (which I loved) and the whole experience was just chill. I was blown away and will be back soon. If you are looking for a color artist in the area, especially, I highly recommend them.Read Less

Kelly was my artist and I must say I'm impressed. We drove in from Durham to get tattooed and I'm so glad we did. She did some amazing line and color work. The shop was clean and quiet. I appreicated the privacy of it Ive definitely been to shops where youre "exposed" and its loud and crazy. This was none of that thank god. I was able to relax while getting my work done. They do appointments only so make sure to email them before just showing up. If you like bright vivid color and some soild color work definitely see Kelly. The other guy who works there wasn't in but I have seen his work on the internet and its super good as well. Read Less

Kelly was my artist and I must say I'm impressed. We drove in from Durham to get tattooed and I'm so glad we did. She did some amazing line and color work. The shop was clean and quiet. I appreicated the privacy of it Ive definitely been to shops where youre "exposed" and its loud and crazy. This was none of that thank god. I was able to relax while getting my work done. They do appointments only so make sure to email them before just showing up. If you like bright vivid color and some soild color work definitely see Kelly. The other guy who works there wasn't in but I have seen his work on the internet and its super good as well. Read Less

My friend Christina D. found Kelly McGrath on Instagram and we both instantly fell in love with her girly style of tattooing. We contacted her through email to set up appointments in advance because we live 7 hours away. She was very pleasant in her emails and seemed to be genuinely excited to work with us. I sent her a bunch of pictures of things I liked and wanted to incorporate into a custom piece, while Christina wanted her to finish an existing tattoo where she only had an outline, as well as add to it. We booked her entire day because the shop is only open from 12-5. We arrived a few minutes late but she was nice & understanding that we drove from out of state. She had been working on the finishing touches of drawing my tattoo and HOLY CRAP! It was even better than I could have ever imagined and she somehow managed to incorporate every single thing I asked for. She got set up and started on Christina first.  Kelly is kind of quiet in comparison to my loud mouth, but very nice and professional. We each explored the (small) town while the other was being tattooed. We definitely took up longer than our booked time slot, but she didn't rush our tattoos or push us out the door afterward. We both absolutely LOVE our tattoos and will make the trip to see Kelly again in the future. She has a unique style of tattooing that's not available close to where we live. We have already gotten so many compliments. Thank you so much, Kelly!! Read Less

My friend Christina D. found Kelly McGrath on Instagram and we both instantly fell in love with her girly style of tattooing. We contacted her through email to set up appointments in advance because we live 7 hours away. She was very pleasant in her emails and seemed to be genuinely excited to work with us. I sent her a bunch of pictures of things I liked and wanted to incorporate into a custom piece, while Christina wanted her to finish an existing tattoo where she only had an outline, as well as add to it. We booked her entire day because the shop is only open from 12-5. We arrived a few minutes late but she was nice & understanding that we drove from out of state. She had been working on the finishing touches of drawing my tattoo and HOLY CRAP! It was even better than I could have ever imagined and she somehow managed to incorporate every single thing I asked for. She got set up and started on Christina first.  Kelly is kind of quiet in comparison to my loud mouth, but very nice and professional. We each explored the (small) town while the other was being tattooed. We definitely took up longer than our booked time slot, but she didn't rush our tattoos or push us out the door afterward. We both absolutely LOVE our tattoos and will make the trip to see Kelly again in the future. She has a unique style of tattooing that's not available close to where we live. We have already gotten so many compliments. Thank you so much, Kelly!! Read Less